Cuyahoga County corruption: Judge McCafferty gets separate trial

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Kate O'Malley granted McCafferty's request for a separate trial from Dimora and two other co-defendants.

Getting her own trial means she will be tried sooner. Instead of their Sept. 12 date, McCafferty will now stand trial Feb. 22.

McCafferty faces a charge that she lied to FBI agents who were investigating various aspects of alleged county corruption.

The Feds sayd McCafferty was lying when she denied talking with Dimora and former D-A-S CEO Steven Pumper about a lawsuit involving Pumper and other contractors who performed work on Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Prosecutors say Dimora called McCafferty to help out Pumper.

They also claim she lied about helping a friend of former Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo with a lawsuit and talking to Russo about it.

McCafferty is on leave with pay. She lost her re-election bid by about 15,000 votes. She still got more votes -- 125,000-plus -- than candidates for other offices, including Republican County Executive candidate Matt Dolan.